


Knights and Ladies and Both at the Same Time

by NoBrandHero



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Dancing, F/F, Fluff, not remotely historically accurate medieval fantasy, p4week2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 17:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1752509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoBrandHero/pseuds/NoBrandHero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Try as she might, Chie struggles every step of the way to be lady-like enough for a noble court. Yukiko appreciates her no matter how inelegant she is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Knights and Ladies and Both at the Same Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Persona 4 the Fanwork Week, Day 6: Alternate Universe. Phew! Reached my goal of participating at least three days! :D There's a small Persona 3 cameo in this one.
> 
> This is a total fantasy-style Medieval AU. No historical accuracies to be found here. (And good riddance! It was smelly back then.)

Yukiko's favorite place to waste her free time was the courtyard in the back of the castle that no one but she and Chie bothered to use. She didn't have that much free time, with all her studies on history and etiquette -- not to mention the days that she had to make appearances at formal events -- but she usually could manage to wrangle at least an hour to relax under the biggest tree and listen to the birds.

In all honesty, her favorite part of the whole thing was spending time with Chie, but Chie was late that day. It _would_ happen on one of the few days that Yukiko had time to lounge for a few hours. The birds seemed even noisier than usual, and there was a loud peeping noise somewhere behind her, but Yukiko assumed it was just her tense imagination playing tricks on her while she waited.

Chie finally trudged outdoors maybe an hour before sunset, wearing one of her nicest court dresses. It wasn't often Yukiko saw her in a farthingale, but then Chie usually had time to swap to a comfier skirt after lessons.

"They sure kept you today," Yukiko said as soon as she was within earshot.

Chie moaned. "Instructor Kirijou wanted me to get at least _one_ dance correct all the way through. I didn't think I'd ever get to leave." She frowned. "I really suck at being a lady sometimes."

Yukiko forced a smile. "I'm sure it's not that bad. You just need... practice."

"We've been at these dances for like a _year_." Chie's shoulders slumped. "You're already so good and I've still got worse grace than a frog."

"Well, I could try teaching you, if that helps."

Chie snorted. "That'd be pretty funny-lookin', with us both in our big ol' skirts. I don't know if my arms can even reach that far." She flopped down next to Yukiko with a long sigh, her legs stretched out in front of her, looking quite boyish compared to Yukiko's dainty kneel.

Yukiko blushed bright red and tried not to stare. "Chie, you can't sit like that in a farthingale!" She lowered her voice to a whisper as she added, "People might see your drawers."

"Aw, so what?" Chie lay back, using her arms as a pillow. "They're not that different-looking than men's slops if they were white. Besides, you're the only one here, right? You already know what women's undergarments look like, seeing as you wear 'em too!" She grinned.

"Even so!" Yukiko glanced around, in part to make sure no men were spying on them and in part not to catch too many glances up Chie's skirt. "Someone could look out a window or stop by suddenly."

"Their fault for being nosy."

Yukiko sighed, knowing there was no point arguing modesty with Chie. The peeping sounds behind them didn't grow any softer now that Yukiko had company and they were starting to grate on the nerves, especially when Chie was too busy moping to keep the conversation going.

Yukiko got to her feet. "Where is that sound _coming_ from?"

"What sound?"

"The peeping!" Yukiko said, wandering further into the grass and scanning the ground.

Chie sat up, glancing about. "Well, there are a lot of birds around here."

"They never sound this close," Yukiko muttered, then froze as her gaze fell on the source of the sound. A tiny baby bird sat in the grass, its feathers not even fully grown. It was cute in a "small and fragile" sort of way, but mostly ugly. "Oh. Oh no." Yukiko knelt and caught it in her hands. "Chie, what do we do?"

Chie crawled over to peer at it, then looked up into the branches directly above them. She pointed up. "I think it came from that nest up there!"

Yukiko almost couldn't see it, hidden amidst the leaves. It was up _so_ high. "It might die if its mother can't keep it warm tonight."

Chie nodded and plucked the bird out of Yukiko's hands with far too little caution, then caught the lowest tree branch with her free hand and hoisted herself up.

"Be careful!" Yukiko said, eyes going wide.

"Hey, I've got this!" Chie called, maneuvering from branch to branch even in her bulky skirt, only stumbling a little here and there when a branch caught at it. Within a minute, she'd made it to the nest and plopped the bird inside. "There! Safe and sound!" She waved to Yukiko before traversing the branches again to make her way to solid ground. She dropped the last ten feet and landed with a "hup!"

Yukiko winced all the same, holding her breath until she confirmed Chie hadn't broken a leg. "Chie, that was amazing!"

Chie straightened with a laugh. Up close, it became clear that the stunt came with its share of consequences: her dress was covered in leaves and, more importantly, long rips where the branches had grabbed at the fabric. "I did good, right?"

Yukiko worried her lip. "Well... Thank you for helping that bird, but..." She winced. "Your dress..."

Chie glanced down and pulled a face. "Ooooops."

"Satonaka!" a mature female voice called from the closest door.

"Oh shit," Chie hissed under her breath, cringing even as she turned to face her instructor.

Mitsuru stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, her sharp gaze aimed straight at them. "May I speak with you a moment?"

Chie gulped loud enough even Yukiko heard it. "I'm so dooooomed," she whispered as she tiptoed over to Mitsuru.

Mitsuru waited for Chie to catch up, then disappeared down the hall with her charge in tow. Yukiko was left alone again. She sighed and figured she might as well get her work done early that day.

She didn't see Chie again until the next day. She was beginning to worry just how severe Mitsuru's punishments could get when she stumbled on Chie in the courtyard again. She did a double-take. Chie was dressed in a long doublet and a pair of hose, of all things, and there was a sword attached to her belt.

" _Chie_?"

Chie's face lit up and she ran over. "Yukiko! I've been looking all over for you!"

"W-what happened?" Yukiko said, trying not to gape. "You didn't get in trouble?"

Chie nodded. "Yeah, it turned out, Instructor Kirijou was just really impressed by my tree-climbing and stuff. She wants to train me as a _knight_ instead of a lady now, can you believe that?"

"I can, actually." Yukiko chuckled, looking Chie up and down. "I see you've foregone the farthingale today."

"It's my new uniform as a knight-in-training!" Chie turned to show it off. "At first they almost put me in slops, but I put my foot down on that! Sheesh. Can you imagine?"

"Says the girl who didn't care if anyone saw her drawers," Yukiko mumbled under her breath. She put on a quick smile and added, "Knight's clothing really suits you, Chie."

"Yeah, I looked awkward in those skirts. Pheeew." Chie's smile turned sheepish. "Just goes to show I never stood a chance of looking as pretty as you."

"Aw, don't worry." Yukiko leaned in and kissed Chie's cheek. " _I_ think you look handsome."

Chie laughed nervously and rubbed at the tip of her nose with the back of a finger. "R-really?"

Yukiko smirked. "You know, I think I'll be able to teach you to dance now that you're wearing hose, if you're still interested in learning."

"Ohh." Chie's eyes widened. "Yeah, you're right, we could do that! I mean, Instructor Kirijou can do both knightly _and_ lady stuff, so why not me?"

"Indeed," Yukiko said with a small chuckle. She held a hand out to Chie, who looked perplexed at first before catching on and taking Yukiko's hand.

Yukiko curtseyed and Chie took an awkward bow, then Yukiko pulled them into a slow dance, humming softly. Chie's feet stumbled to keep up, but she did better than in most of their shared classes, without a skirt to trip her up.

"Chie," Yukiko whispered after a few minutes, "I think you're supposed to lead."

"Oh!" Chie's eyes widened and she chewed her lower lip. "Uhhhh, right. You should prooobably show me how to do that."

Yukiko giggled. "Never mind. We're fine like this." She moved in closer and slid an arm around Chie's back, swaying and moving their feet in a steady rhythm, even though no court dances allowed such close touch. Chie really was her favorite part of hiding in the courtyard.


End file.
